At or near the surface of an extraction well (e.g., an oil or gas well), one or more large safety valves known as blowout preventers (BOPs) are used by drilling crews to seal off a wellbore. For example, if underground pressure forces oil or gas into the wellbore, a drilling crew can close the BOP(s) remotely (e.g., via hydraulic actuators) to forestall a blowout, and regain control of the wellbore. Once this is accomplished, drilling mud density within the wellbore can be increased until adequate fluid pressure is placed on an influx zone, and the BOP(s) can be opened for operations to resume. BOPs exist in a variety of styles, sizes, and pressure ratings. Some BOPs can effectively close over an open wellbore (e.g., blind ram), while others are fitted with hardened steel shearing surfaces that can actually cut through drillpipe (e.g., shear ram). Some BOPs are designed to seal around tubular components disposed within the wellbore (e.g., annular BOP).
A well completion generically describes an assembly of downhole tubulars and equipment required to enable safe and efficient production from an extraction well. Control lines may be positioned on the outer surface of such tubulars to convey energy and/or information between the surface and various downhole locations. When running or retrieving well completions with control lines, the pressure differential rating of annular BOPs may be drastically reduced as it is difficult to obtain an effective seal across the abrupt edges and recesses of conventional control line encapsulation profiles. If an effective and sufficient seal cannot be obtained, activation of blind and/or shear ram BOPs may be required, which can pose a major hazard to personnel on a rig floor and/or result in a costly recovery operation or loss of the wellbore.